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The label says IPA, but IMHO it is really 70% IPA and 30% amber ale. So, depending on your tastes, that could be a good thing or a bad thing. I like amber ales when I'm in the mood for a smoother beer, so that is a good thing. It makes this beer very unique. Accordingly, this beer is a tad darker/reddish orange than most IPA's, with a bit more malt. It is not as complex as a Stone IPA, nor as fruity as Fresh Squeezed, with a soft burnt caramel-orange mouth feel. Deschutes rates this as 80 IBU's but it feels more like 70 to me, probably because it is offset with a very mild sweetness. (But still gives a nice dry finish.) I have tried five different Deschutes beers, and they all seem to fully support stated ABV's- unlike some others that seem a fraction weak in the kick department.

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, best before 6/11/2016. Pours slightly hazy/cloudy deep reddish copper color with a 2 finger dense and fluffy light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings around the glass. Aromas of big grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, lemon zest, light pine, caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of juicy citrus/tropical hops and moderate dark/bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, lemon zest, pine, caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Moderate pine/grassy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, lemon zest, pine, caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Damn nice complexity, robustness, and balance of juicy citrus/tropical hops and moderate dark/bready malt flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light-moderate dryness from bitterness that increases through the glass. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderate sticky, and creamy/bready balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is an excellent IPA. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of juicy citrus/tropical hops and moderate dark/bready malt flavors; and very smooth and easy to drink. A very enjoyable offering.

Appearance – The beer pours an amber-red color with a one finger head of fizzy off white foam. The head fades rather rapidly, leaving just a trace of lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma of the beer is lighter overall with the heaviest of the aromas being that of a pine smell and some caramel. Other smells of a grass and a bit of grapefruit are there as well.

Taste – Upfront the taste is bready and malty with a moderate showing of a caramel sweetness and flavors of a pine hop. As the taste advances the pine gets stronger while the bready taste takes on a slightly more roasted flavor in nature. The roast and the pine continue increasing as the caramel fades a bit, being replaced by more hop flavors of an earthy and grapefruit nature. In the end with the transitions that have transpired, one is left with a decently bitter and moderately roasty IPA flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is thicker and chewier then normal with a slightly lower carbonation level. Overall the feel was pretty good, with it accentuating the hop tastes rather well.

Overall – A rather tasty IPA with a slightly more dank hop and roasty character. Fairly good overall.

Nice blood orange color. Smells like oranges and faint flowers. Taste is a mix or orange and orange rind, followed by a piney aftertaste. Taste is hoppy and bitter, but not overwhelmingly so. Medium body and easy to drink.

12 oz bottle. This is a bottle conditioned beer. With yeast residing primarily at the end of the pour. How you pour it will effect the taste. Leaving about a 1/4 inch in the bottle slightly changes the taste in a glass. I like it both ways (I'm talking about the beer here) But for this review I poured it all in the glass. It seems to produce a nicer head that way.

Pours a somewhat see through amber body with a tan 1 inch fluffy head. Decent lacing

Citrus followed by a slightly apple sauce malt aroma A bit of funky yeast due to the way I poured it...

Taste is a bit more malty and piney then the smell

A medium-low level of carbonation. (I personally like it like this, not too prickly)

Overall a decent IPA available at most supermarkets in the Seattle Tacoma area at a good price. I have had quite a few of these over the years...

This doesn't have anything to do with the beer but...Last year I was in the middle of a big remodel job at my house. Being the cheap bastard that I am, I was doing all the work myself. I was in over my head but kept on going. I would drink a couple of these beers at the end of every work day... Somehow I pulled the project off... On one of the last days I noticed that inside the bottle cap were the words.'"Bravely Done".
...This may sound crazy but it was like a little pat on the back... I kept that bottle cap !

In my mind Deschutes is very underrated they brew a vast array of great styles and sadly alot of people in the midwest and east never have had the chance to try their wares... now enough of that on to the review.This poured an odd kinda hazed brownish orange with a nice tight one finger head that never totaly settles,well that Oregon hop profile really shows itself like I knew it would quite citrusy with lemon I think being predominant over top of caramelly biscuit dough malt its not all one dimensional.The hop dominates but it has character tea-like up front with a nice resiny,spruce like finish all the long a decent sized sweetish malt base holds its own thru to the finish.A nice hoppy quaffing IPA I would have never guess this was so high in alc its very drinkable,well done.

Appearance  This poured a beautiful, malty brown in color and was very thick. The head was massive and just as thick. It rose up mightily on an easy pour, went down slowly, and covered the inside of my Snoqualmie pint glass with thick shaving cream foam.

Smell  The classic PacNW pine is mated here with a strong malt presence. Its a big but balanced nose. Theres a lot of malty sweetness in here as well. It just smells sticky.

Taste  Oh, yeah, this is a big, balanced IPA. The malt comes on huge at the taste. It has some strong yeasty notes, like an English bitter, but mostly its that strong, syrupy flavor like you get from liquid malt. Its got a big sweet flavor as well, like liquid caramel.

The hops come straight through from the nose. Theres some complexity there but mostly it sticks with the pine to stand up to the massive malt. Well done.

Mouthfeel  This is on the big end of medium-bodied and very gooey in the mouth. Its sticky sweet on the lips with a strong, English-style bitterness at the very end.

Drinkability  This is a big-bodied IPA that will fill you up in a hurry. I really enjoyed the harmonious mix of flavors and the heavy, slick mouthfeel.

Had this bottle in Maui. Amber colored with a slight orange tint. Poured with a thin head. Lacing lingered for a considerable time. Definite aroma of honey and pine. Hops come through strongly. The best thing about this beer is although the flavor was hoppy as you would want, it also carried some amount of malt to try and balance it. Semi-creamy mouthfeel. As a whole, an okay IPA but not out of this world.

Inversion comes out of the bottle appearing very dark for an IPA. The color is a deep copper-amber and a big, 2-finger, light khaki head blossoms over the body. The lacing is fantastic!

The aroma of the beer is well-balanced between malt and hops. A healthy dose of sweet caramel malts and piney hops meets my nose. Some light citrus smells of orange and lime are also present.

I am surprised that this beer is so light on the hops. The bottle says best by 1/11/12, so I was assuming that it would be very freshly hoppy, but I am not getting all that much of that. I do get a lot of caramel-ly malt sweetness with a slight citrus hop nip on the sides of my palate and a nice dry, dank pine hop finish. I guess they're (the hops) in there, but not as much as I usually like.

The mouthfeel is on the fuller side for an IPA, with just a little hop bite on the sides of the mouth and tongue.

Certainly a fine IPA, but it's one that I think I would prefer very fresh. It's so well balanced that any amount of hop fading will tilt it in favor of the malts, I think. Good, not great.

A: A medium copper colored ale that produces a good stand of foam when poured. The head is rocky in texture and off white. The bottle has a much appreciated best by date of 10/16/13.

S: Strong citrus hops with aromas of pine and some pineapple. The hops smell is rich layered at first fades after a few minutes. The malt bring a little sweetness and some caramel.

T: The strong hops bitterness and strong citrus hops flavor dominate. With little malt support the hops stand on their own becoming almost too bitter. The balance stays on the side of being aggressively bitter without getting harsh. There is a light malt sweetness with a medium-low caramel flavor.

T: The bitterrness hits right away but it's the unexpected fruity esters that grab my attention. Very interesting flavor profile and certainly different than many other IPAs. Citric and piney with notes of candied red fruits with a strong caramel malt backbone. Bitterness is at an appropriate level but not super high. Nice level of sweetness but not cloying in any way.

M: Medium bodied with a good level of carbonation. I like it; no complaints.

D: Quite high. A well-structured IPA that has lots of flavor and doesn't fatigue the palate.

Overall, another well made beer by Deschutes. Some people may be disappointed as this beer doesn't reach the the super high bitterness category, but it's still quite high and I think the hop character interplays with the prominent malt flavors very nicely. An interesting IPA that I like to include in my IPA rotation.

Looks really good for an IPA, dark copper, amber color with only a bit of chill haze. Off white head, solid one inch on the pour. Reduced to a lumpy mass that grips tight to the glass.

Pine hops predominately in the aroma with some hints of biscuit malts. Fainting touches of citrus rinds. Pretty straight forward.

Flavor is lacking in flavor really. Lots of bitterness but not too much actualy flavor. What is there is a mix of pine and pine resin. Needs some more powerful malt flavors as well. Its just okay really.

Decent mouthfeel, pushing medium bodied. Coats the mouth well enough and the flavor lingers for a bit.

Okay drinkability. The lack of any real flavor outside of its bitterness doesn't draw me to this too much. But its okay.

Pours dark amber into my nonic. Beautiful appearance with abundant amber head. Clear, little effrvescence.
Citrus aroma. Pleasant.
Taste, grapefruit. Definitely grapefruit. Nice balance up front with astringent citrus taking over at the end.
This is borderline IIPA in ABV and hop flavor. A palate destroyer that makes this difficult to drink many of at one time.
So, I make the most of it and enjoy them more sparingly.